Tagged With "foster systems"
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#HackFosterCareLA Brings Tech Lens to Country’s Largest Foster Care System (socialjusticesolutions.org)
This weekend, over 200 people gathered at Fullscreen Media in Playa Vista for #HackFosterCareLA – Los Angeles’ iteration of the hackathon events that have been taking place across the country since last May at the White House. After months of planning, #HackFosterCareLA initiated two-days’ (and one long night’s) worth of active coding and intense dialogue between a cohort of 25 current and former foster youth, tech companies, county and city government officials, philanthropists,...
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Handouts for parents about ACEs, toxic stress & resilience
Hey everyone, here are some handouts that our founder, Jane Stevens, discovered as she was writing a story about the trauma-in formed elementary schools in Spokane, WA . We've updated it, and provided three different versions. The text is the...
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He was about to age out of the foster care system. Then an Anchorage woman read a Facebook post that changed their lives. [Anchorage Daily News]
In a downtown Anchorage courtroom last Tuesday afternoon, a judge declared Andrea Conter and Mitchell Hershey mother and son. It was an unusual adoption: Hershey was a week away from turning 21, and has been in Alaska’s foster care system for more than half his life. Conter is a 53-year-old bookstore manager who had barely considered motherhood until two years ago, when a Facebook post about a college-aged boy who needed a home changed both of their lives. In the fall of 2017, Conter, who is...
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Health Status of Young Adult Mothers with a History of Child Welfare Involvement [policylabchop.edu]
How many of you are aware of the disproportionate relationship between adolescent mothers and the child welfare system? As this research points out, although teen pregnancy is on the decline nation-wide, half of female youth who have current or previous involvement with child welfare also experience pregnancy by age 19 – and half of that number have experienced multiple pregnancies by this age. Researchers at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia research institute looked at one Mid-Atlantic city...
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Helping children from going limbic (www.fatherhoodchannel.com)
Cissy's note: Excerpts from the most helpful article I have read so far about parenting during COVID-19 are below, from the Fatherhood Channel. It reminds me that my curiosity, interest, and ability to offer a safe space are most important even if my inclination is to want to know what to say and to do. It's an article that helped me exhale instead of feeling guilty - and that alone is a relief.
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Helping Young Children Exposed to Trauma: A Systems Approach to Implementing Trauma-Informed Care [chdi.org]
By Alysse Loomis, Ph.D. Kellie Randall, Ph.D. Jason Lang, Ph.D., CHDI, June 2019. This IMPACT provides a summary of the research on the effects of early trauma exposure, discusses what Connecticut is doing across systems to support young children who have experienced trauma, and outlines a framework to expand Connecticut's robust system of trauma-informed care for older children to include younger children. There are more than 228,000 children under the age of six years old in Connecticut,...
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Helping Youth Transition to Adulthood: Guidance for Foster Parents
Please see the attached document to learn more about: The transition to adulthood and self-sufficiency can be challenging for any young person. For teenagers who have been living in foster care, the transition to life outside of care can be daunting. Generally, youth who have experienced foster care do not have the same safety nets and support networks as others their age, and the transition challenges can be even greater.
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High School Suspensions, Multiple Schools Affect Foster Youth as They Enter College [edsource.org]
By Ashley A. Smith, EdSource, January 30, 2020 California foster students who were suspended from school or attended multiple high schools are more likely to struggle in college, according to a new report that examines the academic transition these students undergo. The report released Wednesday, from Educational Results Partnership, a nonprofit research organization, and California College Pathways, a statewide organization that helps foster youth succeed in college, finds these students...
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How do these pediatricians do ACEs screening? Early adopters tell all.
Last week, three pediatricians — with a combined experience of 15 years integrating ACEs science into their practices — reflected on the urgency they felt several years ago that prompted them to begin screening patients for childhood adversity and resilience when there was practically no guidance at all. Along their journey , they accumulated a list of lessons learned for other pediatricians and family clinics to use. The three pediatricians participated in the ACEs Connection webinar,...
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How Trauma Impairs Brain Function (The Best Possible Brain)
By Debbie Hampton, May 27, 2018, for The Best Brain Possible Trauma can actually alter the function of your brain during the stressful event and result in lasting changes in certain brain regions. These changes can impair cognitive function and memory encoding and recall at the moment and in the future. Recent neuroscientific findings in this area have real implications for the victims of crime and the legal system. The science of epigenetics is even showing that the effects of trauma can be...
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HOWEVER KINDLY INTENTIONED: STRUCTURAL RACISM AND VOLUNTEER CASA PROGRAMS [cunylawreview.org]
When we talk about child welfare reform, we shouldn’t shy away from issues of disproportionality and institutionalized oppression, as both are prevalent, present, and deserving of dialogue. One area of conversation I’ve noted of late is with CASA programs. CASA’s are Court Appointed Special Advocates who make recommendations to the court on behalf of the child’s best interest. More often than not, CASA volunteers are well-meaning individuals who give their time to help children. But, many...
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HSC holds symposium on childhood adversity [dailylobo.com]
The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center recently held a symposium to generate ideas for the state to address childhood adversity. As reported in this piece, New Mexico ranks 49th in the Nation for child well-being, and many of the ideas generated at this symposium focused on improvements to working with families experiencing adversity. Hsi said he feels the childhood protective system would benefit from “sustaining funding for a decade to see if we can make a difference,” as...
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'I've Always Been a Lioness When It Comes to My Children': Stories From Inside the Child Welfare System (www.jezebel.com)
Cissy's note: This has been an exceptional series. Here's more about the entire series and an excerpt from the most recent essay. In collaboration with Rise magazine , Jezebel is publishing a series of articles written by parents affected by the child welfare system. This post, the third in the series, features narratives by LaQuana Chapelle and Lashonda Murray, two mothers who themselves grew up in foster care. In New York City, an estimated 25 to 40 percent of mothers with children in...
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Ideas for Recruiting Foster Parents
Although this article is written about a California child welfare system, its trauma informed recommendations are applicable across states. See Ideas for Recruiting Foster Parents to hear from a leading dependency expert, Jan Sherwood of Advokids, on things to consider to recruit and retain foster families who can help prevent additional trauma to children who usually enter the child welfare system with multiple ACEs.
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In 2017, the rate of children in foster care rose in 39 states (childtrends.org)
The number of children and youth in foster care nationally rose for the fifth consecutive year, to 443,000, in federal fiscal year (FY) 2017. While still below the high of 567,000 in FY 1999 , the FY 2017 number is a 1.5 percent increase from FY 2016 and a 12 percent increase from FY 2012, when the number of children and youth in care began rising after more than 10 years of decline. At the state level, Child Trends’ analysis of the newly released Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting...
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In 2017, the rate of children in foster care rose in 39 states [childtrends.org]
The number of children and youth in foster care nationally rose for the fifth consecutive year, to 443,000, in federal fiscal year (FY) 2017. While still below the high of 567,000 in FY 1999 , the FY 2017 number is a 1.5 percent increase from FY 2016 and a 12 percent increase from FY 2012, when the number of children and youth in care began rising after more than 10 years of decline. At the state level, Child Trends’ analysis of the newly released Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting...
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In College, Former Foster Kids Pay it Forward [nationswell.com]
Bria Davis didn’t have the easiest time growing up. Her mother suffered from schizophrenia and her father wasn’t around. As a result, she was placed into the foster-care system, which meant changing schools every year. “Coming out of high school, I never was in a stable place,” Davis says. Davis’ freshman year at Miami Dade College in Florida was challenging, and she eventually sought help. Now a well-acclimated sophomore, Davis decided she was in a unique position to give back. So she...
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Incarceration, Addiction & Homelessness: The Problem with the U.S. Foster Care System
I was recently asked to be on the Incarcerate US podcast that is hosted by Dante Nottingham, an inmate who has been locked up since the age of 17. As you may know, incarceration in the US is at extreme levels and touches a wide variety of social issues, topics and dilemmas. At Incarcerate US, they believe that the solutions to our incarceration problems reside within the minds and hearts of the people. So the aim of our Incarcerate U.S. podcast is to interview a wide array of people across...
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2-Yr-Old Girl Finds a New “Mommy”—11 Minutes Later, Her 2 Words Shatter This Mama’s World (faithit.com)
Making the decision to become a foster parent is one that will radically change anyone’s life. It grows your knowledge of the 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, it breaks your heart for what breaks God’s, and opens your eyes, home, heart and world to a child who desperately needs love. But for most foster parents , they’ll tell you that the joy outweighs the heartbreak. Showing a child who may have experienced trauma, or unthinkable situations, what safety, security, love and...
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2017 Kids Count Data Book [aecf.org]
Wednesday June 14th the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2017 Kids Count Data Book - State Trends in Child Well-Being. This comprehensive report is " a premier source of data on children and families." You can download the report from this post, as well as on the Kids Count website , where you can also access an interactive data map in their Data Center . This is an invaluable amount of data available to the public, relevant to anyone working with children and families - with the...
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4 years after integrating ACEs science, Pueblo, CO clinic improves services for families; cuts ER costs, doctor stress
Four years ago, Dr. Leslie Dempsey would never have talked about ACEs — adverse childhood experiences — with her patients. Now ACEs is a common topic. “Just as I don’t feel awkward asking someone if they smoke or do intravenous drugs, I don’t really feel awkward talking about their childhood traumas in a way that it relates to their health. It’s just integrated into obtaining background and social history,” she says. Dr. Leslie Dempsey Dempsey is a physician in obstetrics who oversees a team...
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6 problems with the foster care system — and what you can do to help [mashable.com]
When Tenaja Jordan came out to her parents at 17 years old, they kicked her out of their home. As a teenager, she was still considered a child in the eyes of the state, and was immediately placed into New York City's child welfare system. Following the trauma of the situation, one question remained on Jordan's mind: Where was she going to live? Jordan made her needs clear to child welfare workers: She didn't want to live on Staten Island or with a homophobic guardian. But that's exactly...
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8th Annual Foster Care Youth Conference- 3/21
Registration is now open for the 8th Annual Foster Care Youth Conference! The conference is open to all foster care and transitional aged youth (ages 14-24) in Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano or Yolo counties. The conference will provide approximately 150 foster care/kinship and transitioning youth with an opportunity to participate in workshops covering resumes and interviewing, communication, trade demos, hair and barbering, fashion, art and sports. Eligible youth will receive a stipend for...
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8th Annual Foster Care Youth Conference- 3/21
Registration is now open for the 8th Annual Foster Care Youth Conference! The conference is open to all foster care and transitional aged youth (ages 14-24) in Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano or Yolo counties. The conference will provide approximately 150 foster care/kinship and transitioning youth with an opportunity to participate in workshops covering resumes and interviewing, communication, trade demos, hair and barbering, fashion, art and sports. Eligible youth will receive a stipend for...
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A Conversation with Nadine Burke Harris: How Should Pediatricians Address Childhood Adversity?
Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris is a masterful storyteller. I learned in a conversation with her at Wheelock College before her presentation for the Brookline, MA organization Steps to Success , that before she decided to become doctor, Dr. Burke Harris wanted to be an author. Only after the smashing success of her TED talk: How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime , when she was approached by a literary agent, did she find her way to writing. Her newly released book The...
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A Hidden Crisis: The Pipeline from Foster Care to Homelessness for LGBTQ Youth [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
This article points out the inequity of the foster care system in meeting the needs of LGBTQ youth, especially LGBTQ youth of color - all of whom often experience trauma as a result of rejection from their primary caregivers, both biological parents and foster parents. It's true, child welfare systems across the country are under-funded, staff are over-worked, and there is a troubling shortage of foster parents in general, and even more so when speaking of foster parents willing to foster...
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ACEs Research Corner — February 2020
Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs science. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Kambeitz C, Klug MG, Greenmyer J, Popova S, Burd L. Association of adverse childhood experiences and neurodevelopmental disorders in people with fetal alcohol...
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Across the Country, Diverging Policies for LGBTQ Youth in Child Welfare System [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
The ways in which states and their respective child welfare agencies support LGBTQ youth varies greatly, according to a state-by-state analysis and map of child welfare systems’ policies from Lambda Legal . Some state agencies have explicit safeguards that protect youth from discrimination on the basis of sex or gender, while other states have none at all, according to the national organization that works to promote the civil rights of the LGBTQ community. The issue has grabbed attention...
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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Psychosocial Well-Being of Women Who Were in Foster Care as Children [the Permanente Journal]
Research has shown that many children in foster care later have psychosocial problems as adults; this is often attributed to cumulative adversities and a lack of supportive caregivers. The risk factors associated with foster care, such as maternal separation and multiple placements, often counteract many protective factors that can ameliorate the effects of childhood adversities. This study assessed the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and psychosocial well-being in...
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After 20 Years, California Man Leaves Foster Care on His Own Terms [KQED.org]
When Noel Anaya was just 1 year old, he and his five brothers and sisters were placed in the California foster care system. He has spent nearly all of his life in that system and has just turned 21. In California, that’s the age when people in foster care “age out” of the system and lose the benefits the system provides. That process becomes official at a final court hearing. Anaya, along with Youth Radio, got rare permission to record the proceeding, where he read a letter he wrote about...
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AG Kamala D. Harris Seeks to Better Serve Foster Youth [sdvoice.info]
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Issues New Guidelines to Encourage Secure Sharing of Information Between Schools and Child Welfare Agencies to Better Serve Foster Youth Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Children’s Justice (BCJ), the California Department of Education (CDE), and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) have jointly developed statewide guidelines for school districts, county offices of...
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Aging Out Institute: The best Collection of Resources for Aging Out of Foster Care on the Internet
National Resources Below you will find programs that are not state-specific, but rather can be leveraged regardless of where the foster youth lives in the U.S. Simply click on the name of the program to get to more information about it. A Home Within:...
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Among New Hampshire Foster Parents, Concern Over Movement of Children in Care (socialjusticesolutions.org)
Fostering Change: Alliance for NH Foster Parents has been fielding concerns from foster parents since its inception three months ago. The influx of stories surfacing from concerned foster parents indicates that the Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) in New Hampshire is needlessly inflicting trauma on the state’s most vulnerable population by abruptly and unnecessarily moving them to new placements. New Hampshire’s foster parents and concerned citizens are advocating for foster...
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An Invitation to Remake Child Welfare [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
A few days before Christmas , the federal government extended an invitation to state child welfare agencies that has the potential to completely transform the system. The invitation did not arrive with great publicity. Nor was it lengthy. Instead, it was announced in a few ordinary-looking sentences, in a very ordinary-looking email. But looks can be deceiving. The change announced by the federal government could lead to far fewer children being placed in foster care. It could expedite the...
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Answering the call for Texas' children [www.tribtalk.org]
If you follow child welfare news at all, you know Texas has been overhauling and prioritizing changes to their foster care system. As the Texas Legislature grapples with how to fund child welfare, they are considering statewide performance-based contracting for the child welfare provider network, which serves the majority of children placed in Texas foster care. Two new bills will include provisions to strengthen the Texas child welfare system, as well as focus on trauma-informed care and...
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Articles
78 Children Missing From State Custody Link: http://www.muskogeephoenix.com...2d7a5a.html?mode=jqm Aging Out of Foster Care: The Costs of Doing Nothing Affect Us All Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...care-_b_3658694.html Applied...
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Balancing Adverse Childhood Experiences with Hope [alliance1.org]
This report presents evidence for HOPE (Health Outcomes of Positive Experiences) based on newly released, compelling data that reinforce the need to promote positive experiences for children and families in order to foster healthy childhood development despite the adversity common in so many families. These data: Establish a spirit of hope and optimism and make the case that positive experiences have lasting impact on human development and functioning, without ignoring well-documented...
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Better Child Abuse Fatality Reviews are Key to Overhauling Child Welfare [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Theresa Covington and Ilana Levinson, August 15, 2019 The Family First and Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), which passed into law as part of the 2018 budget resolution, is one of the largest overhauls of our nation’s child welfare system in the last decade. The law aims to realign resources toward prevention and intervention before a child reaches the critical point of being placed into the foster care system. Most of the attention on the new law is focused on new ways to use Title IV-E...
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Better Training for Foster Parents Could Have Changed My Life [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
When I was 11 years old, I went to the doctor for a check-up and my whole world stopped. In that one moment, the family I had spent six months becoming a part of decided against adoption. I was removed from my biological mother at just six months, and this was the closest I had ever been to joining a family. One week before a judge made me somebody’s daughter, my almost-parents decided that they did not want “a kid with a baby.” “You’re pregnant!” “What were you thinking?” “There are...
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Beyond Faith: How One Community Raised 70 Kids from the Texas Foster Care System [ChronicleOfSocialChange.org]
Diann Sparks hadn’t planned on adopting, until one of her sisters asked her to attend an adoption class in a town 120 miles away from her home in Possum Trot, part of east Texas’ Shelby County. At the time, Sparks had one biological daughter and was a single parent working a full-time job at a chicken plant. Possum Trot, a deeply religious black Baptist community in a mostly white county, doesn’t show up on Google maps. It has no streetlights, no post office, no grocery store and a lot of...
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Big wins for kids caught in foster care crisis [crosscut.com]
Months ago we shared the report from Washington State's Blue Ribbon Commission recommending the creation of a new state agency consolidating child welfare, early learning, and juvenile justice. The report recommends many changes in both internal organization and delivery of services to children and families. Many of these recommendations are informed by ACE science - both emerging and established best practices in child welfare, early learning and work with children and families. Washington...
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Bill aims to create alternative to foster care for struggling families [newschief.com]
This sounds like interesting proposed legislation, and certainly in the right direction as far as building community supports for families in need. However, it does seem to need a little more work to ensure accountability of these short term foster families as well as their ability to safely parent the children in their temporary care. TAMPA — One parent losing a job, being admitted to a hospital or struggling with addiction can be difficult for any family. For a single parent, however, it...
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Brief Aims to Better Understand How Positive Factors Change Child Trauma [socialjusticesolutions.org]
According to a leading group of children’s advocates, it’s not enough to just study the impact of childhood trauma and how we can lessen its toll on children and adults later in life. Armed with new data, researchers from Center for the Study of Social Policy, Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Prevent Child Abuse America, Casey Family Programs and the Montana Institute say that positive childhood experiences are more important...
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Building a Child Welfare System for the 21st Century [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
The Family First Prevention Services Act , which was signed into law as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act on February 9, 2018, offers an historic opportunity for child welfare leaders to re-imagine a child welfare system for the 21 st century. By placing an emphasis on prevention, early intervention and evidence-based practices for children and families, this groundbreaking legislation is requiring child welfare providers to rethink the policies, practices and systems of yesterday and...
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Pasadena Unified Establishes Foster Youth Advisory Council [Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley Journal]
What an amazing solution story highlighting some great work done in the Pasadena Unified School District to support foster youth! The district has established an advisory council to ensure the success of the 400 foster youth enrolled across the district. The district has established services, training, programs and resource centers to support the needs of enrolled foster youth. At its meeting on August 25, 2016, the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education approved the...
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Perfecting Permanency: What’s Being Done to Improve Adoptions and Guardianships [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
One of the most important and sometimes underappreciated challenges facing the child welfare system in the 21st century is addressing the unique needs of families formed through adoption or guardianship. Between 2000 and 2015 there has been an influx of children in adoptive homes. The growth in adoptive and guardianship homes has led to a heightened awareness of the complex needs families can encounter at any point after permanence has been achieved. Many of the direct challenges stem from...
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Placing Foster Children with Relatives May Help Prevent Congregate Care [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Jeremy Loudenback, The Chronicle of Social Change, February 20, 2020 California foster youth placed with relatives are less likely to spend time in group homes or institutional placements, and black children are more likely than their white counterparts to do so, according to new research. According to the study, which looked at six years’ worth of data on 12- to 14-year-olds in California foster care, about one in five children in foster care (17 percent) moved from a family-based foster...
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Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain - FREE Screening for ACEs Connection Network!
I am excited to announce that ACEs Connection Network has partnered with the producers of the film, Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain . to host a FREE SCREENING of the film for our members. If you have been t hinking of hosting a screening of CAREgivers in your community or are interested in learning more about secondary traumatic stress and what to do about it, join our ACEs Connection Network for a FREE screening of this film and a virtual chat with the...
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Pregnant Behind Bars: What We Do And Don't Know About Pregnancy And Incarceration [NPR]
There are 111,616 incarcerated women in the United States, a 7-fold increase since 1980. Some of these women are pregnant, but amid reports of women giving birth in their cells or shackled to hospital beds , prison and public health officials have no hard data on how many incarcerated women are pregnant, or on the outcomes of those pregnancies. A study published in The American Journal of Public Health Thursday changes that. The study included 57 percent of the US prison population (New...
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Preventing Further Traumatization of Foster Children: ADVOKIDS
Foster children typically enter child welfare as the result of numerous ACEs. Unfortunately, being part of the system can cause even more trauma. California child welfare laws require putting the best interests and the wellbeing of a child first, and yet dependency courts often do not have all the information they need to make trauma informed decisions. Advokids, a California nonprofit, works to ensure that foster parents, clinicians, pediatricians, child advocates and many others have the...